Xenophobia (Xenophilia sequel)
by Quatermass
Summary: Their adventures on Gaia may be over for the moment, but Harry and Mikoto have ended up back on Earth. Declared dead, Harry still intends to finish what Voldemort started, but between Death Eaters and malign Ministerial bureaucrats, can Harry and Mikoto, along with friends across two worlds, prevail?
1. Foreword

**FOREWORD**

Finishing _Xenophilia_ so quickly was not my intention, though dividing the story into two was after a certain point. This tale of Harry and Mikoto (the latter from _Final Fantasy IX_ ) ending up together and helping Zidane and company save Gaia is nowhere near my most popular or viewed work, but it clearly captured the imaginations of many of my readers. Which is why the sequel was a sure thing.

 _Final Fantasy IX_ remains my firm favourite of the series. And writing fanfics based on that particular instalment has become a slight niche of mine, with four crossovers to date (not including this one), three with Harry Potter ( _A Third Summoner, Amethyst and Garnet_ , and, of course, _Xenophilia_ ) and one with _Highschool DxD_ ( _Black Mage of Kuoh_ ), along with two pure fanfics, _Raison d'Etre_ and _Zidane of Burmecia_. One crossover with Harry Potter that I enjoyed was _Magical Orders and Thieving Angels_ by Canis Cantus, and while there will be many differences from that work, _Xenophobia_ will have a similar premise: Zidane and other _Final Fantasy IX_ characters getting involved in Year Five's events.

Anyway, time for the usual disclaimers. First, there will be spoilers for Harry Potter and _Final Fantasy IX_. You have been warned.

Secondly, as usual for my works, there will be a lot of annotations. I am sick of people complaining about them, so I say to you, if you don't like them, shut up, or get out.

Finally, the following is a fan-written work. Harry Potter and _Final Fantasy IX_ are the properties of their respective owners. Please support the official release. Otherwise, you'll be transformed into a frog and left in front of Quina Quen.


	2. Chapter 1: Ramifications

**CHAPTER 1:**

 **RAMIFICATIONS**

Azkaban. Not a place people try to go to by choice. The ultimate prison of Magical Britain, horrid, inhumane. Of course, many of the inmates there can be said to be inhumane too, and the guards, the feared Dementors, were just plain inhuman. After all, they fed on happiness, and supped on souls.

The previous night, however, a series of unexplained events had occurred. Only one Auror managed to witness what happened, and even then, he wasn't sure what had happened. He saw the Dementors swarming towards a glowing monkey-man with a tail, of all things, while a trio of teenagers, also glowing and with tails, looked on. The monkey-man used some sort of overpowered magic attack on the Dementors, but one of his blasts went wild, annihilating the high-security wing of the Azkaban fortress, and those within. Thankfully, no Aurors were hurt, let alone killed.

The glowing monkey-man had somehow flown out over the sea to escape the Dementors, only to be swarmed by them. He had had his soul taken, for he dropped into the ocean. The Dementors then swarmed the three tailed teenagers. The Auror had looked away by that point, but when he heard the furious shrieking from the Dementors, he knew, somehow, they had been thwarted.

Soon, there was a visit from the Senior Undersecretary to Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic. Said Senior Undersecretary was an unpleasant, squat, toad-like woman called Dolores Umbridge, an officious, saccharine-sweet woman whom her opponents dubbed the 'Batrachian Bitch', for her resemblance to a toad. Even so, she was a canny woman who knew how to manipulate Fudge and navigate the murky politics of Magical Britain.

Shortly after she arrived, and demanded answers, they had managed to find a body washing up on the rocky shore. The body had an arm and a leg worried away by sharks, and the clothes (if wearing a thong underneath some revealing robes counted as clothing) were askew. The beautiful, effeminate face, framed by lavender locks, was now fixed in a dull, imbecilic expression forevermore. No tail was in evidence, until one of the Aurors removed the man's clothing, and used a _Finite_ on him. A tail, like a monkey's or a cat's, appeared, covered in lavender fur, like his hair. Presumably it had been concealed by magic.

Umbridge, shortly afterwards, went to speak to the Dementors. She was one of the few who seemed immune to the vile creatures, and indeed seemed to command their respect, or at least could command them better than most. Soon afterwards, she made her way back to the boat, without saying anything more than the barest of niceties to anyone else. And the Aurors were glad to see the back of her. She was almost as bad as the Dementors, she was, sucking the joy and happiness out of everyone around her…

* * *

Umbridge was considering what the Dementors had told her. Apparently, the mysterious quartet appeared with a Phoenix. While they didn't hear anything of what they said, they did tell her a few things. The first was that the man who died, the one whose soul they had consumed, had hundreds of souls within him, which tasted slightly different to the souls they were used to. They knew because they had consumed them. The second was that one of the intruders felt very familiar. Dementors did not forgive or forget, and they remembered the feeling of the soul and magic of one who had prevented them from claiming the soul of Sirius Black: namely Harry Potter. And they were certain that Harry was amongst the intruders, even if the intruder who felt like him didn't actually look much like him.

Umbridge considered this information. Dumbledore had voiced the opinion that the Boy Who Lived was potentially dead, along with Cedric Diggory, claims supposedly bolstered by Barty Crouch Junior. Until the Dementor, pissed that Barty Crouch Junior had evaded them, had eaten his soul. And who cared if the deranged Death Eater was right? Umbridge knew where her loyalties lay, and while she wouldn't be so stupid as to take the Dark Mark, she also followed the winning side. And even if Voldemort didn't rise, well, she was in power. It was a truism that behind every great man was a great woman, and as Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, she held more power over Fudge than others would care to admit. He trusted her, trusted her judgement.

Well, time to start arranging things so that she exerted Ministerial control over Hogwarts. Soon, Dumbledore would be out of the way, and Umbridge intended to make sure that the next person to sit in the Headmaster's seat would be herself…

* * *

Hermione couldn't believe her eyes. Okay, Dumbledore had told them about this, about Harry's adventures on another world. He'd even told them about what had befallen him on Terra, of Harry getting his soul ripped from his body, said body getting annihilated, and Harry being put into a replacement body.

And yet, seeing the reality was something else. On Dumbledore's prompting, a trio of figures entered the room. Hermione had seen a photo Harry had taken, and recognised Zidane and Mikoto from it. Zidane was a boy of about sixteen, with a shaggy mop of blonde hair and mischievous blue semi-feline eyes that twinkled more than Dumbledore on high-strength lemon sherbets. Mikoto, maybe about their age, had the same blonde mop, but she had green eyes and a more stoic expression. Both had tails protruding from their rears, like those of a cat or a monkey, blonde-coloured and, in the case of Zidane, waving lazily.

It was the third figure, however, that got the most attention. He seemed to be about their age, with dark hair and green eyes, and his tail (currently intertwined with that of Mikoto's) was dark in colour. But to Hermione, that wasn't the strangest, most unbelievable thing about this. The mannerisms, the recognition in his eyes, they were Harry's. Even in a strange body, she could just tell.

"Hello. It's me. I'm back." The voice wasn't Harry's at all. It was a little higher-pitched, with a different timbre. But Hermione was almost sure it was Harry.

Surprisingly, it was Snape who was the first to break the silence. "Potter, if that is you, I daresay you have been extremely careless. Losing your body…that's the kind of carelessness Longbottom aspires to emulate."

"Greasy hair, big conk, poisonous tongue…" Zidane mused. "Lemme guess, you're Professor Snape?"

"And what, may I ask, is it to you?" Snape drawled.

"Zidane," Harry admonished quietly.

Ron was the next to speak, having finished gaping. "Bloody hell, mate, what happened to you?"

"Language, Ron!" Molly Weasley snapped.

"Very long story," Harry said. "Didn't Dumbledore tell you what happened?"

"Yeah, but…well, look, can you prove it's you?" Ron asked.

Harry sighed. "Dumbledore told me this might be the way. _Expecto Patronum!_ " From his hand, now outstretched in a halting gesture, a blast of silvery mist appeared, forming a stag that now cantered around the kitchen of 12 Grimmauld Place.

Hermione now knew that this was Harry with no more doubt. As far as she knew, only James and Harry Potter had stag Patronuses, and no Death Eater, according to what she knew of the spell, could cast it without dying.

"Hey, I didn't know you could do that, Harry," Zidane said.

"The Patronus Charm is used to send messages and to ward off Dementors," Harry said as the silvery stag dissipated. "Unfortunately, we couldn't use them last night because I have a bad reaction to them."

"What do you mean, last night?" Sirius asked. He then blinked in recollection. "Wait a moment, _The Daily Prophet_ this morning had something about an explosion at Azkaban and Dementors going nuts. That was you?"

"Yeah. Long story short, in order to stop Kuja from destroying everything, we decided to have him face off against Dementors, with a little help from Fawkes," Harry said quietly. "Kuja had stuffed himself to the brim with hundreds of souls to gain a special power known as Trance. To the Dementors, he was a banquet. It was either that, or let him destroy all existence." He shook his head. "I didn't like doing it, even though he was worse than Voldemort. He caused hundreds if not thousands of people to die through a war he started on Gaia, and annihilated Terra, along with the souls waiting in sleep."

"…But you're back, Harry?" Hermione asked. "For good?"

"Well, I'm back for the time being at least," Harry said. "I've dealt with one, no, two genocidal maniacs. I guess I'd better deal with another. After Voldemort's dealt with, well, who knows? I mean, Gaia's a lovely place, that war I mentioned aside. And, well, I'm considered dead here, aren't I? I'd have a hard time explaining away how I came back with a tail."

"And you called these 'Genomes' in your last letter," Hermione said thoughtfully, her eyes flickering over to Mikoto. "So are the Genomes clones or genetically modified organisms?"

"The latter," Mikoto said. "They are enhanced versions of the original genome of the Terrans."

"Enhanced using a vector virus?"

"No. By assembling the genome codon by codon, with enough variation to ensure genetic diversity without compromising the integrity of the coding DNA."

Hermione gaped. "How could you do that, assembling a genome piece by piece like that? The needed computing power alone must be phenomenal, never mind the ability to actually assemble the base molecules of DNA!"

"Before the collapse of our civilisation, genetic modification had reached its peak," Mikoto said, before peering at Hermione. "Harry was right. It seems that you ask a lot of questions, and forget that breathing is paramount to optimal brain function."

Hermione's eyes widened. Had Mikoto just insulted her? No, the faint but wry smile playing about the Genome's lips was free from malice, though not from mischief. And then, Mikoto said, "I will endeavour to provide you with whatever information I can about how we came to be, Hermione. Gaia has only recently discovered electricity, they are yet to even conceive of genetics."

"Has anyone got a translation charm for this conversation?" Sirius asked, putting his hand in the air.

"It's called a science textbook, Black," Snape retorted. "They are speaking of concepts that your family, along with so many other Pureblood families in the world, would have trouble grasping. No wonder you can't understand it."

"In any case," Dumbledore said, interjecting carefully before any fights broke out, "it is true that we need to come up with a way for Harry to be at Hogwarts, albeit under an assumed name. After all, he has been presumed dead, and coming along in a new body would cause problems. Therefore, I am enrolling Harry under a new name, and, if she wishes to, Miss Mikoto as well. We are also negotiating to have Zidane and his comrades assist the Order. As Dobby and Fawkes can ferry people between the two worlds…"

"Can we trust them?" Remus asked.

"Most of them," Harry said. "Not so sure about Amarant, but the others I fought alongside, they're good people. Plus, I think Vivi and Eiko wanted to see Hogwarts after I described it to them. They're a bit young to attend, but they're powerful mages. So's Princess Garnet. You should see summon magic sometime."

"What name were you going to go under?" Ron asked.

"I'm still working on it. I think Mikoto was going to call herself Mikoto Tribal, because that's Zidane's last name. It's still going to cause comment with us being there. I mean, how many people do you know have tails?"

"Aye, you have a point there, lad," Moody remarked. "It's still going to be difficult with you in Hogwarts, though, what with Umbridge set to come."

"Umbridge?" Harry asked quietly. "Oh, yes, Dumbledore mentioned her."

"And she hates anyone with non-human heritage," Remus said bitterly. "Even if we don't go around advertising that you're Harry Potter, she'll still target you, especially if you seem like you support Dumbledore."

"One thing I had hoped to do to forestall Umbridge was to hire a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher," Dumbledore said. "Unfortunately, most promising candidates have been scared away by the curse, and the few willing to risk that are unsuitable for various reasons. I meant to ask you three, are there any from Gaia who might be willing to take on the role?"

Zidane, Mikoto, and Harry all looked at each other, before Zidane remarked, "I dunno. I'd have to ask. There's a couple of people we know who might be able to help. When we head back there, we'll discuss the situation. Dagger and the others will be worried about us."

"Dagger?" Hermione asked.

"Zidane means Princess Garnet," Harry explained. "It's a long story."

"Don't you mean a long 'tail', Harry?" Sirius asked, looking at Harry's tail, provoking a round of laughter that even Harry joined in. Still, it was really only one moment of levity before the problems of the year could begin in earnest…

 **CHAPTER 1 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **And there you have it, the first chapter of** ** _Xenophobia_** **. Hope you enjoyed it.**

 **No numbered annotations this time.**


	3. Chapter 2: The Order and the Adventurers

**CHAPTER 2:**

 **THE ORDER AND THE ADVENTURERS**

As 12 Grimmauld Place was under the Fidelius Charm, it was decided that most of the Order of the Phoenix would meet the adventurers that Harry had encountered on Gaia in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. Fawkes was summoned, and asked to ferry them across, with Dobby explaining it. Zidane's comrades were given notice enough to come over.

The adventurers were ferried to the Entrance Hall, while the Order remained in the Great Hall, Harry and Mikoto with them. Eventually, Zidane, who had gone to bring them up to speed, emerged. "Okay, they're ready. Come on in, guys!"

Hermione watched as a most extraordinary group of people came, a sextet that she had seen, with one notable exception, in the photos Harry sent back. The first was a girl just older than Hermione, about sixteen or seventeen, with a proud, regal bearing, but a gentle, decent demeanour too. Her black hair, cut a little short, framed a beautiful face, her dark eyes looking around the room in restrained wonder. Hermione recognised her as Princess Garnet til Alexandros XVII, now, presumably, Queen Garnet. She was dressed rather casually for royalty, in a rather figure-hugging set of orange coveralls, along with a white shirt.

Garnet was flanked by a pair of knights, presumably her bodyguards. She recognised the stocky form of Adelbert Steiner, Captain of the Pluto Knights, but not the young woman with the light brown hair and some sort of eyepatch over one eye, whose demeanour was a little aloof and professional. This woman was introduced by Garnet as General Beatrix.

Nearby were two children. One was apparently a boy, wearing a blue coat, green striped trousers, and a pointy hat. Nothing of his face could be seen in the darkness between hat and coat, save for two glowing eyes. Strangely, the effect was endearing rather than sinister. A girl, perhaps slightly younger, stood next to him, with blue hair, and a small horn jutting from her forehead. Vivi Ornitier, and Eiko Carol respectively, Hermione knew.

The last one present was a tall, elegant woman in red livery, hefting a spear. Said woman looked nothing less than a bipedal rat, and yet, despite that, she looked graceful and elegant, adjectives one would not normally assign to rats. White hair framed her face. Hermione remembered this one as Lady Freya Crescent, a Dragoon of Burmecia.

"Greetings. I am Professor Albus Dumbledore," Dumbledore said. "Am I to assume that I am addressing Princess Garnet til Alexandros XVII?"

"Indeed. You'll forgive me for not standing on ceremony, Professor. I enjoy learning, and I respect men of learning, but we are here on business. You may dispense with protocol for the most part anyway. You may, if you wish, call me Garnet, or even Dagger, which is the alias Zidane chose for me when we were going incognito."

* * *

A number of introductions were made, and a table was Transfigured into a larger, round one. Garnet and Dumbledore sat at opposite sides, and the others sat down. Garnet found herself sitting between Mikoto, who had Harry next to her, and Freya.

"Professor Dumbledore, Zidane told us that you would like our assistance with an issue. Given what Harry spoke about his life here, can I assume that it is related to Voldemort and his underlings?"

Consternation swept the table as she used Voldemort's name, and Dumbledore nodded solemnly. "Indeed."

"Why are these people so afraid of the name?" Beatrix asked. "There are many infamous people back home, responsible for crimes worse than this Voldemort, and yet we do not cringe like that when we hear their names."

"True, but your home may not have a Taboo spell," McGonagall pointed out. "During the last war against V-Voldemort, he sent his minions to murder anyone who spoke out against him, especially if they used his name. Most of his minions called him merely the Dark Lord. In the closing months of that conflict, he became bold enough to use a Taboo spell. When anyone spoke his name, he would be able to send his followers instantly to that location to capture or kill them."

"Speak of the devil, and he's at your shoulder?" Freya asked. "A fearsome spell indeed. That makes some of the fear of speaking the name understandable. Are there no counters?"

"No, save for the strongest of wards," Dumbledore said. "But back onto the topic at hand. Voldemort is indeed the reason why I asked you to come here. Harry's adventures on Gaia and Terra are extraordinary, and of a scale that makes our own problem look small by comparison. Nonetheless, we need all the help we can get. That is why we asked for your help."

"I would be honoured to help the friends of Harry," Steiner said. "But I have my duties in guarding the Princess."

"That is something that is a factor," Garnet said. "I am soon to be crowned Queen of Alexandria, a responsibility I have deferred for far too long, and I cannot tarry much longer. What help I can personally give you will be limited, but I will do what I can."

"Well, perhaps one thing you could do to help is if you know of any skilled teachers in combat magic," Dumbledore said.

"Why?"

"Harry may not have told you, but we have an annual need for a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher," Dumbledore explained. "Although Professor Snape desires the position, I can't find a substitute for him to teach Potions, unless I can winkle Professor Slughorn out of wherever he's hidden himself. And in truth, the position itself is cursed. At the moment, the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, has been hinting to me that he will send his Senior Undersecretary, an odious woman by the name of Dolores Umbridge, to fill the role. Umbridge and one of Voldemort's financial backers, Lucius Malfoy, have been dripping poison in Fudge's ear, claiming that I desire his position. Fudge is suspicious of me, though it has thankfully not escalated yet. I therefore need someone to fill the position to stymie them."

"Is the curse lethal?" Freya asked.

"Not necessarily," Lupin said. "I was one of those affected by the curse. I was forced to resign when my status as a werewolf was exposed." He shot a dirty look at Snape, who merely smirked back. "In Harry's time here, two of the teachers died, but they were both supporters of Voldemort. Gilderoy Lockhart, my immediate predecessor, was a charlatan who ended up wiping his memory by accident while trying to wipe Harry and Ron's."

"I have tried to excise the curse," Dumbledore said, "but it has proven utterly intractable. I believe it is tied to Voldemort's life-force. It will only die with him."

"And given what Harry has told us so far, Voldemort is somewhat tenacious, unable and unwilling to die normally," Garnet said with considerable understatement. "If I may, Professor, while he may not have any ability to use magic, my tutor Doctor Tot may be of use in other regards. He is well-read in esoteric matters, including magic. It is possible that he knows something about how Voldemort remains in the land of the living."

"I suspect the truth, so the matter is not the means by which Voldemort remains alive, but rather, locating and removing those means. Thank you for your kind offer, Garnet, but your tutor's knowledge may not be necessary. That being said, I would appreciate any help in narrowing down possible avenues of inquiry, but it needs to be discreet. Voldemort, I believe, used the foulest forms of magic to anchor himself to the realm of the living. There are few I trust with specifics in this matter." A thought then occurred to Dumbledore, and he looked over at Zidane. "Mr Tribal, you are a thief of considerable skill, are you not?"

"Yeah. You want me to nick something?"

"With all due precautions, yes," Dumbledore said. "I may need to retain your services. Indeed, anyone you can spare, Garnet, I would appreciate, those who understand discretion. I also wanted to ask whether you know of anyone skilled in magic, particularly in the Dark Arts and defending against them."

If Vivi had visible lips, he would have pursed them. "Umm, I know quite a bit."

Dumbledore smiled indulgently. "I'm sure you do, Mr Ornitier. But a child teaching a Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson would only cause ridicule, even if you are competent."

"I don't know for certain, but there's a couple of people I could consider," Garnet said. "My honorary aunt, Lady Hilda Garde, is a possibility. While it is true that she has responsibilities as the wife of the Regent of Lindblum, both she and Cid would probably not mind. Another possible candidate, albeit a somewhat riskier one, may be a mercenary we encountered known as Lani."

"Lani?" Zidane echoed incredulously. "She tried to kill us!"

"On my mother's orders. She is a mercenary of considerable skill with Black Magic, with combat skills beyond her age," Garnet said. "And if I recall correctly, we learned she had taken up residence in Madain Sari after a failed attempt to get back to Alexandria, and is living peacefully with the Moogles."

"I'll interview her myself if a meeting can be arranged," Dumbledore said. "Even a mercenary may yet be preferable to Umbridge. That being said, even bringing in a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher may not be able to stymie Fudge. He's certainly intending to send Umbridge anyway, as a High Inquisitor of Hogwarts. In theory, meant to check that everything is up to standards, in reality, Umbridge will be here to exert Ministerial control over this school, and attempt to find a way to oust me, or at least erode my powerbase. That in itself can't be stopped, but preventing her from filling the Defence Against the Dark Arts post can be done, I hope."

Garnet nodded. "I understand. I will contact the people I have mentioned forthwith, Professor." She looked at Zidane. "You have no issue working with Dumbledore, Zidane?"

"Hey, anything to help Harry," Zidane said.

* * *

The meeting went on for a little longer, before it ended. Hermione eventually went over to Garnet, who was talking to Zidane about something, before they noticed her approaching. "This is Hermione, Dagger," Zidane said. "She's the brainy friend of Harry's."

"Well met," Garnet said with a smile and a nod, while Zidane went off to talk to Eiko and Vivi.

"It's good to meet you, Your Highness," Hermione said, curtseying, only to be waved off by Garnet.

"Please, you don't have to be so formal," Garnet said. "I got used to being addressed with familiarity during my travels with Zidane. And to tell the truth, I am not one for protocol anyway. I hated etiquette lessons. Even during my travels in Zidane's company, I found it hard to shake the habit ingrained into me, though Steiner found it harder still. Harry spoke highly of you and Ronald."

Hermione smiled in her turn. "I'm glad. Harry…he was my first friend, I have to say. And he saved my life from a troll. He has a bit of a saving people thing. He said that he saved your world, and many others, when he stopped Kuja."

"Indeed. It may make your own problems with this Voldemort seem small by comparison, but I would be remiss if I did not offer what aid I could, especially given what Harry did to help us," Garnet said. "Our journey may not have succeeded without his help, or indeed many of our comrades from disparate lands and people. Freya could very well have refused to help me, given what my mother did to her homeland of Burmecia, and to the Burmecian colony of Cleyra, but she did so. Vivi was created as a golem for an army, and both Zidane and Mikoto were created to wipe out life on Gaia for Terra's plans. Amarant, whom you have not met, was a mercenary hired by my mother, though he defected for his own reasons. While your world's concerns are technically not mine, I am more than willing to help where I can, even if my aid is limited. Both because it is the right thing to do, and because Harry had helped us."

"Thanks, Garnet," Hermione said.

"You're welcome. Actually, if you wish, I can obtain texts on Gaian history and magic quite readily," Garnet said. "There's even an entire island on our world taken up by a library called Daguerro."

Hermione's eyes widened. An entire island taken up by a library? She NEEDED to go there one day. Hermione had an itching to head to Gaia one day, especially having heard that bit of news…

 **CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Bit of a slow chapter. Hopefully, it'll get better as the story gets moving.**

 **So, who should be DADA teacher? Hilda? Lani? Or even Stiltzkin, who I suggested in Xenophilia? Make your opinion known in the reviews.**

 **No numbered annotations this time.**


	4. Chapter 3: Breakfast and Boggart

**CHAPTER 3:**

 **BREAKFAST AND BOGGART**

12 Grimmauld Place was not the best of places to be. Between a portrait of Walburga Black that screamed insults and imprecations whenever someone woke up the portrait, and a decrepit House Elf called Kreacher who muttered similar insults towards all and sundry, including Sirius, it was certainly not very healthy. But on the other hand, it had a certain charm, despite the dark, decrepit, and grim nature. Harry learned more about Sirius' family than he knew before, especially as he was distantly related to the Blacks.

As they sat around the breakfast table at 12 Grimmauld Place the next day, Ron looked at Harry and Mikoto sitting together, and said, his mouth half full, "I can't get used to you looking like that, mate."

Mikoto looked at Ron with a raised eyebrow. "You should. Incidentally, while I feel etiquette is a vestigial remnant of society, talking with your mouth full can cause you to choke, and I presume Harry won't want to see you dying of asphyxiation."

Ron swallowed, and peered at her. "I'm surprised you haven't been talking to Hermione, what with all those big words."

"Oh, we've been talking, Ron," Hermione said. "While you and Ginny are asking Harry and Zidane about their adventures on Gaia and Terra, I was asking Mikoto about genetic engineering and other technology they have. Terra was far more advanced than Earth. They even fused magic and science! I just wish it hadn't got to the stage that they were trying to assimilate other worlds to survive. It was a bit like Mondas from that old _Doctor Who_ episode(1)."

"Hermione is indeed an intelligent person," Mikoto said. "It is refreshing to speak to someone who, while not on my level, is nonetheless capable of understanding the concepts, and learning them."

"I'm not sure whether I should be insulted by the fact that you said I'm not on your level," Hermione said.

"Mikoto lacks social skills," Harry said.

"And I have been trained for much of my life to be Garland's assistant in all things," Mikoto said. "I apologise for the offence, Hermione. None was intended. And Harry is right. Aside from Garland, the only company I had was with my fellow Genomes, who had no souls, and virtually no sentience. I believe you would view them as being robots, albeit of a biological nature."

"Yes, we discussed that earlier. It's creepy, but fascinating too," Hermione said. "And I agree with Ron, it's taking some getting used to having Harry using the body of a different species. The fact that Terra had such technology, to tear the soul from a body, as well as transplant souls, is highly disturbing."

"I had to go through it," Harry said pointedly. "It's a very unpleasant experience."

Zidane, who had been getting his own breakfast, sat down nearby, and said, "Yeah, well, that whole saga wasn't exactly a garden path. The Mist Continent got torn apart by wars my brother caused, Dagger and I, and Vivi, we all learned some pretty bad truths about ourselves. Dagger was orphaned at a young age thanks to Kuja, and her adoptive mother, the Queen of Alexandria, exploited her for her Eidolons and tried to have her executed. Vivi and I found out we were both created for the purpose of killing and destroying. And Mikoto…she had to see what Terra was doing to Gaia."

Silence fell over the table, broken by Sirius entering the kitchen, Tonks in tow. Harry had been introduced to the clumsy Auror trainee before, who was a Metamorphmagus, and a relative of Sirius. "Bad news, kids. It's been confirmed that the Umbitch is coming to Hogwarts. Dumbledore's managed to stall Fudge on the DADA post, but Fudge has still appointed Dolores Umbridge as Hogwarts High Inquisitor, and she'll be the next DADA teacher if we can't get word back from Gaia soon."

"That's bad news, right?" Zidane asked. "You were talking about how bad this woman was before."

"Yeah. She's one of those people with power and the ear of Fudge, telling him what he wants to hear," Tonks said, pursing her lips in anger. "She's not a Death Eater as far as we know, but she's got the attitude, pretty much everything bar the Dark Mark. Hell, for all I know, she has one, but you'd never get a warrant to check because she's the Senior Undersecretary. And even that wouldn't do much, or we wouldn't have Lucius Malfoy or those others still running around."

"And she's still angling for the DADA position," Sirius said. "Keep in mind that, lately, Fudge is growing more paranoid about Dumbledore building up forces to overthrow him. Umbridge and Malfoy help stoke those fears."

"Divide and conquer," Mikoto murmured. "This Malfoy is obviously sowing discord to assist in his master's plans, and Umbridge, directly allied to Voldemort or not, is helping, at least for her own ends."

"Dumbledore's the one person Voldemort fears, not that he'd ever admit it out loud," Sirius said. "Then again, he probably feared Harry on some level. Keep in mind, he failed to kill Harry when he was a baby, and while he may not have feared Harry personally, he would have feared the effects of the failure to kill Harry. He's probably resting easy, at least as far as you're concerned, Harry."

"Well, I was probably dead for a while when Garland tore out my soul," Harry said, rubbing a hand through his hair. "I don't recommend it. Getting a new body was painful. And I'm still getting used to it, especially the tail."

"You'll love it," Zidane said with a smirk. "You can do all kinds of neat stuff with your tail, Harry." His expression became serious. "I know it's only been a day, but have you heard back from Dagger?"

"You mean Princess Garnet?" Sirius asked. "You've got good taste in girls, Zidane, and no, we haven't heard anything substantial. Dobby's agreed to act as a messenger between worlds. She's only just sent messages to Lindblum and Madain Sari. That being said, she's got one possibility that I'd think would be a great prank. Something called a Moogle, by the name of Stiltzkin."

Zidane blinked, then laughed. "Stiltzkin?"

"Who's Stiltzkin?" Harry asked. He knew what a Moogle was: they were a sort of fairy race that resembled winged teddy bears with pom-poms on the end of antennae from their heads. Eiko's strongest Eidolon, Madeen, originally took the form of a Moogle until Kuja attempted to extract Eidolons from the too-young Eiko.

"What's a Moogle?" Ron asked.

"Moogles are fairy-like beings," Zidane said. "They're intelligent and helpful, for the most part. Remember Eiko? She was raised by them when her family died. And Stiltzkin is like an adventurer. He may look small, but he's a seasoned traveller. He'd probably know quite a bit of White and Black Magic. Hell, if you'd look past his appearance, he'd be a great DADA teacher, at least in terms of what he could teach. Dunno if he's a good teacher in general, though. And he might have too much wanderlust to want to do teaching."

"What about the differences in our magic styles?" Hermione asked. "Mikoto told me a lot about the differences between our magic, and that of Terra and Gaia."

"Extemporise," Mikoto said. "Harry was capable of learning our magic, and I am sure that a seasoned mage from our world could learn what is needed for the position. I would do it myself, but I doubt Umbridge would consider me to be any authority on the matter given my age."

"We'll burn that bridge when we come to it," Tonks said. "Harry, got any further thoughts to an assumed name?"

Harry considered it. In fact, he had been considering it for quite a while. To have a new name was not a decision to take lightly, nor was choosing said name. "Well, I think I'll have Hal as my first name: that's short for Harry. As for my last name…I'm choosing Vivi's. Ornitier."

"Hal Ornitier," Zidane mused. "Has a nice ring to it. Why Vivi's surname, though?"

"A tribute to him. We don't know how much longer he will last," Harry said. "And with the soul-transference equipment lost with Terra, we can't attempt transferring his body into a Genome one."

"Harry asked me," Mikoto said quietly. "I could, given time, recreate some of the technology, but it would be too late for the Black Mages, even with any technology I could scavenge from this world. At best, I can create longer-lived clones with the technology on the _Invincible_ , children if you would, but I cannot transfer the soul."

Zidane tched in annoyance. "Vivi deserves better."

"So did the people of Terra," Mikoto pointed out. "Or those killed in the wars Kuja caused. Or the summoners of Madain Sari. But life is not so neat."

A solemn silence settled over the room, broken only by those present having breakfast with varying degrees of enthusiasm. There was nothing else to say for the time being…

* * *

"It's a rather curious ability," Mikoto mused later as she watched Tonks shift into various forms while they were in an office, helping Sirius clean things up and checking for Dark artifacts. Molly had roped Harry, the Weasley children, and Hermione into helping elsewhere. "And you have to be born with it?"

"Yep. Why do you ask?"

"I am well-versed in genetic engineering," Mikoto said quietly. "I am curious about genes that would govern magic of various kinds. I would like to do tests."

Tonks frowned. "With what?"

"Blood tests and buccal swabs."

"Buccal what?"

"…For DNA testing. I swab the inside of your mouth with a cotton bud."

Tonks sighed in relief. "Sorry, I thought it was something bad. Then again, wizards don't know much about DNA. My dad's a Muggleborn, though. I reckon that, in the whole of the DMLE, there's maybe three who know about DNA testing: me, Madam Bones, and Shack."

"Do you mean Kingsley Shacklebolt?"

"Yeah. He's a Pureblood apparently, but he's also one of those who bothers to study the Muggle world. He's usually the one sent out to liaise with the Muggle police, especially those who are aware of us. DNA testing is used to identify criminals here."

"Dee-Ehn-Ay?" Sirius asked.

"Deoxyribonucleic acid," Mikoto said.

"…Gesundheit?"

"Think of it as making up a blueprint that shapes how your body grows," Mikoto said with a gentle sigh. "You inherit half of this blueprint from your mother, and half from your father. DNA is the name of the chemical that makes up the blueprint, but the full blueprint is known as a genome. That is why my people were called this: our blueprint was modified and enhanced."

"Really?" Sirius asked.

"No magic required, either," Mikoto said. Then, a writing desk's cabinet rattled. She started slightly.

"Sirius?" Tonks asked.

Sirius frowned. "Moody!" he called out. The grizzled, scarred Auror limped in not long afterwards. "Can you tell what's in there?"

"Boggart," Moody growled after a few seconds.

"How can you tell?" Tonks asked. "I thought they were shape-shifters? Do they have a true form?"

"No. Boggarts change their shape based on whether they are being perceived."

"Better a Boggart than something worse," Sirius muttered. "Okay, Tonks, you and I are using the Riddikulus Charm. Mikoto, stand back."

Mikoto blinked, wondering what a Boggart was. She soon got her answer when the cabinet was opened, and something came out, something that, when it noticed her, suddenly changed shape.

To the others, the ancient man, while sinister and odd, was not someone they feared. But Mikoto knew that figure, her heart thumping in her chest in fear and loathing. The armoured body with the red light strobing in his chest, the blank white eyes glaring at her, the bearded face. It couldn't be him, he was dead, but…here he was.

"You betrayed me, Mikoto," Garland growled. "You betrayed me, and with that, the future of all Terra! You are of no use to me now." He reached for her throat.

"FLARE!" Mikoto screamed, flinging a hand out. Garland disappeared with a howl of pain as orange and red energy coalesced around him, and then exploded outwards, bathing the bare skin of those present with heat. Blinking the dazzle from their eyes, the others present stared at the spot where the Boggart used to be. The floor was slightly charred, and part of the writing desk had disintegrated into ashes.

Moody, after a moment, said, "A touch of overkill for a Boggart, Tribal. You can force them to flee or dissipate with the right charms. Who was that?"

"Garland," Mikoto said, panting.

"The guy who ruled Terra?" Tonks asked. "Merlin, you must have been really afraid of the guy. I thought it would have been Kuja for your Boggart."

"Tonks, get Harry," Sirius said in an unusually no-nonsense tone. Tonks scurried out, while Sirius guided Mikoto to a chair to sit down.

Moody, meanwhile, was examining the charred remains of the Boggart. "Like Fiendfyre, only focused on the spot," he mused. He looked at Mikoto, and said, not unsympathetically, "You're dangerous, girl. I'm glad you're on our side. And I'm glad you're watching Potter's back."

Mikoto said nothing, even when Harry burst in, and came over to Mikoto, sitting by her, placing his arm around her. But she leaned into his embrace. No words needed to be said, even as Mikoto, gently, began to weep. They just stayed like that for a while, in relative silence, one comforting the other after an unwelcome reminder of the past…

 **CHAPTER 3 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Sorry about the wait for this chapter. This will probably be one of the lower-priority stories. But I've managed to squeeze out this chapter. I was inspired for the Boggart bit by Molly having her own encounter. It didn't take long for me to realise what Mikoto's Boggart would be. Garland or Kuja are the only serious candidates, unless a Boggart can imitate a planet exploding, and I thought Garland would be the better choice, as Mikoto knows Garland better, and probably fears him more than Kuja, despite Kuja's later genocidal ambitions.**

 **1\. Hermione is referring to** ** _The Tenth Planet_** **, the debut story of the Cybermen and the last story of William Hartnell's Doctor. I thought what Terra was doing to Gaia was fairly similar to what Mondas did to Earth.**


End file.
